§ Viscount WOLMERasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will publish the accounts of the Wool Controller, showing the prices of the various grades of English wool at which they were purchased from farmers during the three seasons 1916, 1917, and 1918, the price each grade made in its sold condition to the manufacturer, and the profits made on each grade, if any?
§ Mr. KELLAWAYThe official purchase price lists for the various types of wool grown in the United Kingdom have each season been published locally in the areas into which the United Kingdom was divided for the purpose of wool purchase. The description of the different types of wool given in the purchase price lists do not correspond with the grades of wool sold to manufacturers, as each type bought from the farmer would be classed into several grades, with prices varying in accordance with their quality, length, style, and yield. It is accordingly impossible to give any reliable comparison between the buying price for any type and the selling prices of the various grades made from it. With regard to the question of profits I would refer the Noble Lord to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for Abingdon (Brigadier-General Wigan) on the 29tli April last.